CH 237

The man with long blond hair scrunched his face and asked, “What’s the matter?” He looked utterly clueless as to why Tania was showing such an extreme reaction.

Responding to his question with one of her own, Tania stuttered, “Wh-who did you say you were? I mean… What did you call yourself?”

“How many times will you ask! I’m Girgantia!”

“Lies! If you’re Girgantia, then tell me what sauce-flavored chicken you had yesterday!”

“Honey mustard mixed with sweet chili, and tartar sauce topped with avocado,” the man recited without a beat’s hesitation. “And I finished it all since you said you didn’t want the avocados.”

Tania looked aghast when he recited a perfect match of yesterday’s menu. However, she quickly shook her head and shouted, “Th-that’s not enough to convince me. Ha-hang on… Tell me the name of the book I was reading yesterday!”

Tania sorely doubted he would answer correctly. Or rather, she hoped he wouldn’t. Yet, contrary to her expectations, the man crossed his arms and answered with ease, “Oh, you mean the one with the unmarked nude cover: The Confined Captive Learns Obe—”

“Gaaah!” Tania interrupted with a shout, launching a fist at him before he could finish.

Taken by surprise, the stranger was sent flying into the air and collapsed in a heap a short distance away. Tania stared at the collapsed man in front of her and stuttered, “It-it’s really Girgantia.” Falling to her knees, she clutched her head as the events from a little while before flashed through her mind.

* * *

“Yes, I’m his girlfriend. What’s the matter?” Tania announced. The mysterious blond man had grabbed her arm and declared her to be his girlfriend, so she naturally followed his lead. Despite not fully understanding the situation, she thought it would be a good idea to play along. Her plan was to make this stranger pay her back tenfold—with his body of course. ‘I should ask for ten dates,’ she thought.

Glancing between the blond woman and Tania, before valiantly crying, “Just because there’s a goalkeeper doesn’t mean you can’t score! Besides, I’m prettier than her!”

“What does that matter!” the man barked back, “I bet my girl can eat chicken better!”

‘Say what? Chicken? Wasn’t that coming out of left field?’ Tania thought, puzzled.

Leaning in, the blond man whispered, “That woman is weird. She came onto me and aggressively asked me to date her as soon as she saw me. I’ve no idea what’s gotten into her. We’ve never even met before!”

‘It’s your face, I tell you,’ Tania thought, swallowing back the answer that hung on the tip of her tongue. ‘You’re wrong. There’s nothing weird about her. I can totally relate. If I were in her shoes, it wouldn’t end with just insisting on going out. I would…’

A scene from a book she’d read the day before flashed through her mind—about the queen of the night teaching her confined captive to obey. The handmaiden briefly entertained the dangerous fantasy, before snapping her mouth closed and turning to focus her attention on a matter that was bothering her.

‘What is this feeling?’ The blond man had been holding her shoulder and talking to her familiarly, like they were old friends. However, rather than feeling out of place, she felt an odd sense of familiarity.

“What is that!”

“It’s a monster!”

Suddenly, terrified screams sounded out in the air. Tania whipped her head around to look up at the sky and her eyes widened in horror. “That’s…!” she gasped. Between the gaps in the buildings, she saw the sudden appearance of the black monster that had terrorized the dukedom of Etia. She vividly remembered the destruction the creature had inflicted upon the dukedom. ‘Even His Majesty had been consumed by it.’

In truth, the black monster was Estian himself, but the handmaiden had no way of knowing this. When Cecile had leaped toward the monster, the ensuing explosion of light had knocked Tania out. By the time she came to, the imperial knight order stationed nearby had already found her.

“Do you remember what happened then?” Later, Estian came by and asked Tania what she remembered of the Etia incident. Facing him, Tania felt a chill run down her back, but she answered honestly that she had no memories after fainting. For some reason, he seemed relieved by her response.

“Ahhhhh!”

The sound of another woman screaming woke Tania out of her stupor. Recalling the horrific sights of Etia, Tania looked towards the blond man and shouted, “Run away!”